Poll showing fall in support dims election outlook for New Zealand’s Ardern

WELLINGTON (Reuters) – New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern is pleased with her government’s progress, she said on Tuesday, after two closely watched opinion polls showed support for her ruling coalition at its lowest since 2017, and her own popularity waning. FILE PHOTO: Prime Minister of New Zealand Jacinda Ardern speaks during the Bloomberg Global Business Forum in New York City, New York, U.S., September 25, 2019. REUTERS/Shannon Stapleton/File Photo Ardern, 39, faces a general election expected in the second half of 2020, after having taken the helm of the Labour-led government in October 2017 and won praise for her views on issues such as women’s rights, climate change and diversity. But domestic critics have questioned her leadership amid sinking business confidence, a slowing economy, governance issues and, most recently, her party’s handling of sexual assault complaints. Support for the center-left coalition government has dropped to its worst since 2017, while the opposition National Party has enough backing to form the next coalition government, a 1News/Colmar Brunton poll by state broadcaster 1News showed on Monday. On Tuesday, responding to the poll result, which showed support for the Labour-led coalition fell three percentage points to 40%, Ardern said she was not… Read full this story

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